Finding Aid for the Ralph Story papers, 1940-2007

Processed by Ellen Mulligan in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli,
2009; additions to collection processed by Heather Lowe, 2010; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé

Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.

Los Angeles, California 90095-1575

Abstract: Ralph Story was a broadcast journalist and television host for more than four decades, hosting programs such as
Ralph Story's Los Angeles-- an Emmy-winning weekly magazine series that ran on KNXT-TV from 1964 to 1970,
The $64,000 challenge, Ralph Story's
A.M., the KNXT Channel 2 Evening News and numerous prime time specials. Renowned especially for his local interest reporting,
Story served as correspondent, reporter and anchor for radio and television news from the 1940s to the 1980s, and was a prolific
lecturer on the media and California history. The collection consists of scripts and professional documentation spanning Story's
career.

Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Language:
English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Ralph Story's Los Angeles scripts, donated ca. 1965

Addition, and bulk of the collection, gift of Diana Story, December 2008

Ralph Story (August 19, 1920 - September 26, 2006) was born Ralph Bernard Snyder in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In high school and
at Western Michigan College, he worked part time as a radio announcer, and eventually left college to pursue a career in radio
full time first in Grand Rapids, Michigan and then Buffalo, New York. His career was interrupted when he joined the Air Force
during World War II. Already a licensed pilot, he served first as a flight instructor and then flew 63 missions over Europe
as a P-51 fighter pilot. After the war, he returned to Buffalo to work as an announcer and program director for CBS radio
affiliate WGR. In 1948, CBS radio transferred him to Los Angeles. There, he served as program director and morning DJ at
KNX and changed his name to Ralph Story. While at KNX, the Military Air Transport Service invited Story to visit and interview
for broadcast servicemen and civilians from California stationed around the world. The result was
California Around the World, broadcast on CBS radio.

After a brief stint as host of the game show
What Do You Have in Common?, Story moved to New York City to emcee
The $64,000 Challenge from 1956-1958, when it was cancelled in the wake of the quiz show scandal. Story returned to Los Angeles and for the next
forty years hosted, wrote and produced for radio and television, exploring and shaping such formats as talk radio, news broadcasting,
human interest and local color reporting, and the magazine show. The bulk of his broadcast career was spent at KNX radio and
its sister television station KNXT, both CBS affiliates. However, Story also worked for KABC, KNBC, KCET, KCAL, and independent
production companies including National General and O'Connor radio.

In addition to his serialized weekly and daily programs and radio spots, Story hosted a variety of special programs, including
prime-time specials, award ceremonies, and local events such as the Tournament of Roses Parade and Hollywood Bowl concerts.
He was also a prolific producer, writer and lecturer on local and California history, and prepared but did not publish a guidebook
to Los Angeles. Story was active in civic and professional groups, hosting celebrity tennis events and serving as grand marshal
for numerous local festivals and functions. He was a fundraiser for Public Television stations KCET and KOCE and a frequent
speaker at community and educational meetings.

Story is best remembered for his detailed research and his wry and witty observations about life in California and especially
in Los Angeles. Television work includes: the "Human Predicament" on KNXT's
The Big News,
Ralph Story's Los Angeles,
Ralph Story's AM,
The Channel 2 News,
It's a Nice Place...,
The Sunday Show,
On the Road Again,
The Wine Game,
Things That Aren't Here Anymore and
More Things That Aren't Here Anymore.

Story's radio titles include:
The Ralph Story Show,
Top of the Morning,
Storyline,
Hollywood Today,
Dimension in Hollywood,
Meet the Cook,
Food News,
You're the Judge and an annual Christmas Morning special.

In 1984, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded Story their highest honor, the Governors Award. Other awards
Story received throughout his career include numerous Los Angeles Area Emmys and Golden Mikes, two Directors Guild of America
Awards, and many local and professional honors.

Ralph Story died on September 26, 2006 after a long battle with emphysema at the age of 86 in Los Angeles, California.

Scope and Content

This collection documents the activities of Ralph Story, a broadcast journalist and television host. An original donation
of 208 scripts for
Ralph Story's Los Angeles was supplemented in 2008 with approximately 40 more scripts from
Ralph Story's Los Angeles, and scripts, research and production materials spanning Story's career. The bulk of the collection consists of broadcast
scripts, clippings, contracts, correspondence, financial and legal material, production records, photographs, research material,
draft chapters of a guidebook, miscellaneous printed matter and ephemera.

Organization and Arrangement

Creator's original order has been retained and arranged into the following series:

The UCLA Film and Television Archive holds various items spanning Ralph Story's career in television broadcasting, including
over 100 episodes of
Ralph Story's Los Angeles, selected specials, news programs, and early television work.

Container List

1. Broadcasting -- Radio and Television

Scope and Content Note

Scripts, research, some correspondence (where originally filed with program
materials), proposals, production records.

Radio
1949 - 1978

Scope and Content Note

Scripts and research materials for radio programs broadcast on WGR, KNX
and CBS national radio network. This series also includes proposals for television programs that
evolved from radio series.

Survey of food and cooking shows-- research and draft for future report "What's Cooking
on Television"
1977 October

Box 4, Folder 2

"What's Cooking on Television" -- draft of report 1977

Box 4, Folder 3

"What's Cooking on Television" -- bound report 1977

Box 4, Folder 4

2 pitches for television food shows 1977 June and December

Scope and Content Note

"What's Cooking America?" and "The Great American Cook-Off," a series
proposed by Robert Dwan.

Box 62, Folder 1

"Stars in the Morning" -- audition recording script 18 November 1948

Box 62, Folder 2

CBS brief 12 May 1950

Box 62, Folder 3

"Taking California Around the World" -- summary report ca. 1951

Box 62, Folder 4

KNX "Top of the Morning" script 11 June 1951

Box 62, Folder 5

"You're the Judge" -- scripts ca. 1976

Scope and Content Note

12 scripts (numbers 105 -117)

Box 62, Folder 6

"Meet the Cook" -- script, recipe, and press release ca. 1978

Box 62, Folder 7

"The Ralph Story show" -- special edition undated

Television, Serial Programs
1959 - 1982

Scope and Content Note

Scripts and research materials for programs including Ralph Story's Los
Angeles (Scripts only, for shows numbered 1 -248 excluding 229 and 244, which are missing from
the collection. MOS indicates Man on the Street survey), KABC Story in Hollywood, KABC Ralph
Story's AM, ABC AM America, and KNXT/CBS Evening News. Dates taken from creator file
labels and appear to be airdates; shooting schedules, assignment sheets and taping dates may
vary. This series also includes proposals and pilots for television series, as well as production
records, memos and some correspondence.

Box 4, Folder 5

CBS "The Big Party by Revlon" -- script and schedule 1959 October

Box 4, Folder 6

KNXT/CBS Big News -- Human Predicament segments 1963 and 1965

Scope and Content Note

Scripts for "Planned escape," Tut curse, JFK assassination, death of Robert
Ruark

Box 4, Folder 7

KNXT Ralph Story's Los Angeles -- history of program and log; includes detailed
contents for episodes (segment topics-- taken from annotated scripts) and rerun dates for each
episode
1963 - 1969

No. 11 Hermits in Los Angeles (see also no.15); social visits then and now;
the greeting-card business; corporal punishment in the Los Angeles schools. 1964 March 24.
no.12 Reverend James Price Sandefer; surfing wet and dry. 1964 March 31. no.13 President
Johnson criticized for speeding; Catalina Island (see also no.14); a model United Nations; two
young Southern Californians on their way to South America in a model A. 1964 April 7. no.14
Teenagers reactions to the fold-up of radio station KRLA; Tony Cornero, the Rex and the Lux;
horseshoers or smithies; added quips on Catalina (see no.13). 1964 April 14. no.15 Alcohol and
animals, especially dogs; Henri Charpentier's; Restaurant La Rue's back-door tradition;
Shakespeare; letter from hermit Sparks Freesoul (see no.11). 1964 April 21.

No.21 Statewide science fair in the City of Commerce; the health food
industry. 1964 June 9. no.22 College seniors and their immediate plans - a survey; the Golden Age
of Radio; hills in Los Angeles that are comparable to those in San Francisco. 1964 June 16. no.23
Grunion hunting; the so-called Right of Eminent Domain in Los Angeles; the exhibit at the State
Museum of Science and Industry of war booty. 1964 June 23. no.24 Mart Toggweiler's submarine;
the swallows and the pigeons of San Juan Capistrano; memorial to Dr. Rufus Bernhard Von Klein-
Smid. 1964 June 30. no.25 Henry Gaylord Wilshire and his boulevard; a dog named Theodore.
1964 July 7.

No.36 Expressions Angelenos hate most - a survey; Grand Central Air
Terminal in Glendale; planned playgrounds; propositions on the November 3, 1964 ballot. 1964
October 27. no.37 Public Library pilfering; the auto eater or the recycling of automobiles; Mr. Morris
Robert - Cerritos Channel bridge superintendant; T.V. Medicitis. 1964 November 10. no.38 The
Hundred Years' War of Pershing Square; Jackson Barnett and his wife Anna - Indian claims to
California; the natural pond on University High School's campus. 1964 November 17. no.39 What's
middle age? - a survey; Los Angeles charter chapter of the American Society of Theater Organ
Enthusiasts; Ellsworth (Sonny) Wisecarver. 1964 November 24. no.40 Quest for a national flower;
the fake flower business and the fresh flower business; where have all the orange groves gone?;
therapeutic wife beating.1964 December 1.

No.41 The Hollywoodland sign; the privately built dormitory complexes; the
Bank Caf� of San Pedro; the Green Forest Celery Heart plant. 1964 December 8. no.42 Comments
on the professional techniques of T.V.'s high school teacher Mr. Novak; the oil industry; Palm
Springs. 1964 December 15. no.43 Santa Claus; the town of Boron; Juan Gomez's tamales. 1964
December 22. no.44 The Art and Science of Barbering; men's grooming salons; the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art's move from Exposition Park to Hancock Park. 1964 December 29. no.45
Fancy food; famous planes and their pilots - Joan Merriam Smith and Douglas Wrong Way
Corrigan; Captain Max Schumacher the freeway watcher. 1965 January 5.

No.56 Harrison Gray Otis and the bombing of the Los Angeles Times or labor
vs. management in Los Angeles in 1910. 1965 March 23. no.57 Teaching youngsters to drink in
school; from chuck wagons to catering trucks; the French Hospital. 1965 March 30. no.58 The
roller-skate, skateboard, ball throwing law breakers; the Norwegian Seaman's Church in San
Pedro; retirement of the nations oldest computer. 1965 April 6. no.59 Americans and their pets - a
survey; rassling; the slaughter of Easter pets. 1965 April 13. no.60 Billboard art; Mrs. Louise Peete
- murderess. 1965 April 20.

No.71 The grunion survey (repeat); Trooper the Los Angeles Police
Department's horse; Edwin Cowston and his ostrich farm; the American Federation of Musicians
and their Los Angeles specialists. 1965 July 6. no.72 Where kids get their money - a survey; the
haunted history of Griffith Park and the Feliz Adobe (repeat); Manhattan Beach street-lights. 1965
July 13. no.73 That let-down feeling - a survey; Henry Gaylord Wilshire and his boulevard (repeat);
the bicycle and cycling in Los Angeles. 1965 July 20. no.74 Santa Monica's Muscle Beach and
their musclemen; animal actors in Hollywood. 1965 September 12. no.75 Pigeons in Los Angeles;
Allan Hancock and his park (see also no.6); the definition of culture- a survey. 1965 September 19.

No.96 The Hollywood Museum; correction and apology to Mr. Kenneth Walker
regarding show no.90; weathermen. 1966 February 13. no.97 The best car ever designed - a
survey; car makes and models; George Barris and Les Tompkins, and Kustom City; review of the
Battle of Los Angeles (see no.52 & 55); Bruno Koglin the Good Humor veteran. 1966 February 20.
no.98 Los Angeles Airport's agricultural program; Santa Anita Race Track research; Chester Place
- the most exclusive area in Los Angeles. 1966 February 27. no.99 People who had their name in
the newspaper and why - a survey; Robert Chess the 10 year old newspaper publisher; our palm
trees; Angels Flight cable car. 1966 March 6. no.100 Distinguished guests in Los Angeles have no
official place to stay; elevators in Los Angeles; Grauman's Chinese Theater; ferry boats. 1966
March 13.

No.101 Balboa Island auto ferry; one last ferry boat - the Sacramento. 1966
March 20. no.102 Los Angeles City Hall floor levels; Signal Hill; national television tests. 1966
March 27. no.103 More on smog; John Dillinger's passenger car, and the Kienholz exhibit; going
shopping with Patricia Beal a hired spy. 1966 April 3. no.104 Show business and politics;
experiment in international co-existence in the backroom of a famous restaurant; Jungle Jim
Shapiro. 1966 April 10. no.105 Long Beach - the senior citizen's haven; the Long Beach Municipal
Market; Riverside Rancho - horse haven; Governor Brown on artichokes. 1966 April 17.

No.106 John B. Leonis and Vernon, California; a harpsichord factory and
muffler shop in Silverlake. 1966 April 24.no.107 Westwood and Le Drogue Store; The Big White
Steamer and her predecessors. 1966 May 1. no.108 The worth of wives - a survey; California State
Police; the New York Stock Exchange's possible move to Los Angeles; convertible cars in Los
Angeles. 1966 May 8. no.109 The golfer's lottery; Elsinore Navel and Military School; Barney's
Beanery. 1966 May 15. no.110 The Hollywood Canteen during the war; Herman Goering's 1937
Horch at Carson High School in Torrance; Mr. Killion and others on the list of Disaster Acting
Governors. 1966 May 22.

No.156 American Legion Post Seven-Ninety-Six in Topanga Canyon and
beatniks, teeny-boppers, hippies, and flower children in the area. 1967 June 18. no.157 How
important is a suntan - a survey; Olympic Village; Christy Duca - Dodger Stadium grounds keeper
and the Rainbow Worm Farm. 1967 June 25. no.158 When you stroll, carry identification; Lookout
Mountain's movie makers; modern shepherds. 1967 July 2. no.159 Tommy Koulax - restaurant
tycoon; automated radio station KTBT and its helpers; Edward H. Bohlin - artist and creator of
western gear. 1967 July 9. no.160 The common cold - a survey; speleology; Mitchell Caverns
(repeat); Long Beach citizens and their electric carts. 1967 July 16.

No.169 The Cleveland Wrecking Company; the Buffalo Soldiers of the Tenth
Cavalry. 1967 October 29. no.170 Should ordinary citizens keep and use firearms - a survey in
Pasadena; the Eastern Firearms Corps; chimney sweeps. 1967 November 5. no.171 Upton
Sinclair; irritating habits - a survey. 1967 November 12. no.172 Sonny Yates - a blind sky-diver;
David Koeningsberg - an 11 year old producer; roofs in Los Angeles. 1967 November 19. no.173
Ethel Meglin and the Meglin Kiddies; people and their favorite song - a survey. 1967 November 26.

No.174 Who's fault is the cost of living problem? - a survey; Los Angeles Trade
Technical College; Santa Monica City College; the Santa Monica College Coronettes. 1967
December 3. no.175 Palm tree growing in the Hollywood freeway; the many faces of segregation;
should young and old live together - a survey; the Carmichael family of Pasadena - all four
generations. 1967 December 10. no.176 Pasadena and New Year's Day, Rose Parade; Cal State
Long Beach's International Investigations Systems; lady detectives. 1967 December 17. no.177
Round House George Lehman, Jack Kent Cooke and the Forum; jockey school. 1967 December
24.

No.220 The worst movie of 1968 - a survey; stocks, securities and brokerage
firms; Mexican and Indian dancing. 1968 January 26. no.221 The kind of boss people would like to
work for - a survey; the sea-going squadron of the Los Angeles Fire Department; Van Nuys -
Sherman Oaks war memorial told as Wizard of Oz. 1969 February 2. no.222 The City Traffic
Department; neon and other signs; Australian gray crickets. 1969 February 9. no.223 Land
speculation and housing developments in the Los Angeles area; the eucalyptus tree. 1969
February 16.

National General "Special of the Month" -- syndicated series contracts, publicity, scripts
for "The Nudity Thing," "The Fountain of Groovy,""The Whackey World of Weird," and outline for
"The Women Are Revolting."
1970

Box 32, Folder 3

National General "Special of the Month" -- press kits for "The Nudity Thing," "Women Are
Revolting,""Marriage: Who Needs It?," and "The Weird World of Weird"
1970

Scope and Content Note

Each kit contains press releases, B & W stills, a color slide. Kit for "Marriage:
Who Needs It?" includes photos Bob Crane, Margaret Mead, a same sex wedding, and other
Hollywood personalities. Produced by Filmways Television presentations

Pictorial California and the Pacific, December 1968; color Xerox of Harper's
Bazaar cover, October 1962; Los Angeles Times special supplement on the Los Angeles County
Art Museum, March 28, 1965; Los Angeles Times special supplement on city bicentennial, august
31, 1980; 2 issues of Bien, Danish language newspaper, May 13, 1976 and April 14 1982;

Radio and TV News Association of Southern California Award for Best Documentary for
"On the Road Again"
1982

Box 67, Folder 7

Academy Television Awards 18 April 1970

Box 67, Folder 8

Award certificates 1980 - 1970

Box 67, Folder 9

Awards speeches undated

Scope and Content Note

Examples of others' speeches.

Contracts

Scope and Content Note

Box 56, Folder 3

Contracts 1949 - 1968

Box 56, Folder 4

Contracts 1956 - 1980

Box 56, Folder 5

Contracts 1962 - 1985

Box 67, Folder 10

Contracts and agent correspondence concerning contracts 1949 - 1960

Box 67, Folder 11

Contract correspondence 1962-1967

Box 67, Folder 12

Contracts -- Abrams-Rubaloff and Associates 1970 - 1976

Box 67, Folder 13

Contracts 1976 - 1986

Box 67, Folder 14

American Federation of Television and Radio Actors -- permits 1968 - 1969

Box 67, Folder 15

Car reimbursement reports 1973

Correspondence
1959 and later

Scope and Content Note

Business correspondence, fan mail, kudos. Letters include thank yous, story
ideas, invitations and responses to research requests. For some programs, additional
correspondence can be found under the program's title in series 1. Broadcasting -- Radio and
Television, above.

Spirit of Achievement Awards presented to Agnes DeMille, Sophie Gimbel, Mrs. David
M. Levy, and Jean Kerr by the Women's Division, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva
University
1958 March 24

Party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Kretzer, 1957 January 9; Ralph Story with
Eloise English, Don Ross and others, undated; Ralph Story with Tom Irish of the Wally Findlay
Galleries and Bob Wright, Australian Assistant Trade Commissioner, 1973
1957 January 9

Scope and Content Note

4 photographs (8x10 inch black and white), letter

Box 59, Folder 1

Board mounted oversized b&w photos Story at work, KNXT CBS

Scope and Content Note

8 photos cropped to varying sizes

Box 59, Folder 2

Oversized photos Story at work, one with Stephanie Edwards

Scope and Content Note

5 photographs (11x14 inch black and white)

Box 59, Folder 3

Oversized publicity shots for "It's a nice place�" 1967

Scope and Content Note

8 photographs (9.5x14 inch black and white)

Box 71, Folder 22

Air Force portraits ca. 1943

Box 71, Folder 23

Travel snapshots and foreign currency ca. 1953

Box 71, Folder 24

Headshots ca. 1954 - 1996

Box 71, Folder 25

CBS photographs ca. 1955

Box 71, Folder 26

Events and Appearances ca. 1955 - 1993

Box 72, Folder 1

Broadcasting ca. 1955 - 1995

Box 72, Folder 2

Globe photo shoot ca. 1957

Box 72, Folder 3

Broadcasting -- contact sheets ca. 1957 - 1965

Box 72, Folder 4

Theater ca. 1959

Box 72, Folder 5

KNXT/CBS -- "The Very Last Resort" ca. 1966

Box 72, Folder 6

Tennis ca. 1970

Box 72, Folder 7

Unidentified photo shoot slides ca. 1971

Box 72, Folder 8

Signed photographs given to Story ca. 1973

Box 72, Folder 9

Unidentified event ca. 1975

Box 72, Folder 10

Silverado Day Parade slides 1977 November 14

Box 72, Folder 11

Porciuncula research photographs 1980

Box 72, Folder 12

Story at Grauman's Theater in Hollywood -- negatives undated

Box 74, Folder 1

Oversize photographs ca. 1948 - 1980

6. Personal life

Scope and Content Note

Includes memorablia collected by Story including personal correspondence,
photo and clipping albums, vinyl records, and sheet music.

Box 72, Folder 18

Childhood project -- "My Health Book" 1929

Box 72, Folder 19

Piano recital programs ca. 1930

Box 72, Folder 20

Correspondence with Marjorie Snyder (Story's mother) 1932 - 1951

Box 72, Folder 21

"The Delphian" -- Kalamazoo Central High School 1937

Box 72, Folder 22

Preflight magazine 1943

Scope and Content Note

Includes correspondence to Story's mother on the back cover.

Box 72, Folder 23

WGR album ca. 1948

Box 72, Folder 24

Early CBS radio album ca. 1950

Box 73, Folder 1

Clippings album ca. 1954

Scope and Content Note

Also includes a small number of items and photographs from Story's childhood
indicating the album may have been kept by Story's mother.

Box 73, Folder 2

Script -- Bernard Shaw's play, "Don Juan in Hell" 1960

Scope and Content Note

This is Story's personal script for his role as the Devil in this play.

Box 73, Folder 3

Playbills ca. 1960

Box 73, Folder 4

Correspondence with Rev. Parker Moloney 1969

Box 73, Folder 5

Cat clippings 1969

Scope and Content Note

Includes hand-colored piece of cloth.

Box 73, Folder 6

Fighter award album undated

Box 73, Folder 7

"Freedom of the Press" booklet undated

Box 73, Folder 8

Sheet music by Albert Hay Malotte undated

Scope and Content Note

Includes 7" record, "Lullaby" narrated by Story.

Box 73, Folder 9

Vinyl Records Album undated

Box 73, Folder 10

Vinyl Records undated

Scope and Content Note

Includes one record which Story narrated called, "Lullaby."

Box 74, Folder 2

Revlon/Crank's album -- "Ralph Story visits Springfield, MO" ca. 1956

Box 74, Folder 3

CBS departure album ca. 1955

Scope and Content Note

Album presented to Story by colleagues at KNXT/CBS radio preceding his
departure to host the "$64,000 Challenge."